January 2023

On January 13, President Joe Biden announced the appointment of eight members to serve on the National Science Board (NSB). The appointees include Deborah Loewenberg Ball, William H. Payne Collegiate Professor of education at the University of Michigan. Ball is an AERA Fellow and served as AERA president in 2017–18.

The NSB establishes policies at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and serves as an independent body of advisors to the president and Congress on science and engineering policy.

Ball will be serving her second term on the NSB, having previously served on the board in 2012–18. She will fill a role specifically cited in the call for nominations for an expert in STEM education. The NSB Vision 2030 includes STEM development as one of its main priorities. In addition, a working group of NSB members have been examining issues in K–12 STEM education to inform recommendations to be released later this year that will guide NSB and NSF priorities.

“We thank President Biden for appointing all of these eminent members and for including the expertise of education research in STEM by appointing Dr. Ball,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “With the focus of developing the next generation of STEM educators and researchers, Dr. Ball will provide keen insight and collaborative spirit in improving outcomes and broadening participation in STEM across the nation.”

In addition to Ball, President Biden appointed the following seven NSB members. All terms will end in 2028.

• Vicki L. Chandler, Minerva University
• Dorota A. Grejner-Brzezinska, The Ohio State University
• Marvi Ann Matos Rodriguez, Boeing Company
• Keivan G. Stassun, Vanderbilt University
• Merlin Theodore, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Wanda Elaine Ward, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Bevlee A. Watford, Virginia Tech

NSB will hold its next meeting February 15–16.